40 Years

 What does forty years of marriage feel like?  Well I can tell you that it went by in a blink of the eye.  There are ups and downs. Things don’t always turn out as planned, but somehow we got through it.  There are dreams that had to be put on hold and then tossed aside as no longer realistic.  There were new dreams to be made that tried to fill the void that the old dreams left.  Don’t get me wrong they were good.  However nothing replaces the dreams of youth when everything was possible.  I have a few regrets but many, many more joys in life.  

Would I do it all over again? Yes, with one caveat.  Only with this man at my side. We did not always agree with the mind of an artist versus the mind of science and logic.  Although deep down our core values were the same.  

We were over joyed to have 2 beautiful and thoughtful children.  They are as different as night and day. They loved us and most importantly each other.  They learned to work together as only siblings can.  They did, in my opinion, grow up much too fast. In their opinion not fast enough. They were strong and confident enough to follow their own dreams and path in life.  I am so glad that they allowed us to be part of that life. It is a great privilege to be able to call them our children. They both took us on great adventures.  I think the adventures that they took us on were some of the best adventures in our lives.  

Life as newlyweds was awesome.  Then on to children. Then balancing our core family 4 was very time consuming.  Each child with their own diverse needs.  That was a very hectic period in our lives.  Then caring for some of our elders which made life even more hectic.  It literally took me years to dig myself out of that overwhelmed time of life.  

Now as we contemplate the next forty years together we still have plans and places to go.  Try to keep up with us if you can.  We do know that the best of life is yet to come.  

Facts

1. It takes longer than a presidential town hall to fill a four ounce bobbin with lace weight yarn..just ask me how I know.. spinning

2. It is possible to fill the recycling bin to over full 3 weeks running..deep cleaning is the answer.

3. I really hate it when my screen goes blank and I lose an entire post.  Thank you iOS 10. Apple please fix the glitch. 

4. The universe has plans for all of us, it's just not talking.  

5.  I can't fix the whole world alone, but together if we all do a bunch of small things we can make the world a better place.  

6.  Children take you on fantastic adventures. Be prepared to follow.

7. I have spun over a pound of yarn this last week. Pictures and yardage tomorrow. 

It's time to end this post.. the screen has gone blank 10 times now.. John says at least iOS 10 has a mission..new tech hates me. 

Why Mom's Run Away from Home.

I really think prestigious online  news outlets like The Onion, have really missed the mark on this one.  The real reason that we are seeing an increase of all mommies running away from home.  

First and foremost are the long work hours. After working most of the day and then staying up most of the night we really want some time off. Trying to stay awake the next day to take care of and entertain a sick or cranky child is no piece of cake. Speaking of cake, I will take some vegan or parve cup cakes.  I really think that the cats have made decisive strides here. By finding a warm, quite and out of the way place to curl up and sleep. A nice sunny and quite place sounds good right now. Do you think anyone  will find me curled up behind the couch?

Which brings up the issue of pay. Have you ever tried to buy a new dress with sticky, peanut butter and jelly hugs. Our kids really have to come up with a more universally accepted payroll system.  We want wardrobes comparable to what other women in the work place get to wear on a daily basis. Have you ever noticed that really tired mommies wear pj's well after noon? Now if we can make rules about little sticky hands not being allowed to muck up the new wardrobe. 

This also brings up all the activities that the kids just have to do.  I am not feeling really positive about 7 year olds padding their college applications by making us drive them from one activity to the next.  Do they think we are also chauffeurs? Take soccer for instance.  The sport has become so popular that practices are ending after my bed time.  Can't I just give you a ball to kick around the back yard?  After all just how many of you will actually break even on this sport by getting actual money for college?  You can't expect to make me sit with some of those parents that yell at everyone.  Who knows,  they might think that they are the Knitting Police too.  And the music lesson.  Instead of practicing in the house take your practice outside and let the entire neighborhood enjoy the strides that you are making, so that they can see their tax dollars at work. 

Yes, I know that I am using a lot of run on sentences. For the Spelling and Grammer Police out there you are grounded until further notice.  xoxo Your Mommie on the run.  

Car Keys

You know that the visit has ended much too soon when your children return the car keys.  The week went much too quick. I am looking forward to more visits from my very busy daughter Teri. 

What Makes Us Good Mothers

With Mothers Day just over in the United States it brings yesterday's encounter even more revelant.  It always amazes me that whenever people learn about Eric and ask if he has any siblings.  When I say yes, the look I always get is should I ask her about her other child?  Some people start out by asking if they are in the same day program. Other just want to know if she still lives at home too.  Yet all are stunned to find out that Teri is a Copyright Attorney in California.  Like how is this possible?  

Motherhood gives each mother a unique opportunity to interact with each child as an individual. I have found that both my child are very unique. My children are polar opposites.  My job as a mother has been to help Teri and Eric each reach their unique potential in an optimal way for their learning style.  

Since Eric was about 6 months old I have always stressed to Teri, that Eric is her brother and not her responseability.  I have always stressed that mom and dad are responsible for the care of both Teri and her brother.  That Teri's job in life is to be the best possible Teri possible, even if it meant leaving Eric behind at times.  In that endeavor Teri has exceeded what I thought was possible.

Each child has made my life so much better in their own unique way. Eric has helped me learn patience. Teri has help me learn to dig deeper for the answers, although on technical issues I am quite sure she hates the line "wait until your father comes home".  Eric has helped me find the time to knit 100's of warm winter items for kids in need. Teri has taken me to England and Italy, which were life time dreams of mine. I would still like to go again and explore some more.  It is not possible now.  Eric has taken me to our nations capital and explore all the history, something that I have dreamed of doing.  Yes each has given me so much. 

I guess in my own meandering way I am trying to say thank you to my 2 increadable kids. They along with John have made my life so rich. For that I am very thankful. 

New Shoes and More

Eric slept for 12 full hours last night. I can not remember the last time that had happened. Me on the other hand was up at around 4am from arthritis pain. Eric was in a really good mood today too. Although I can not figure out how he managed to get more sleep today as he dozed on and off. I really hope that he sleeps tonight. So far its almost 11pm and he is still up.

As for the arthritis pain in my knee, I recently did some research on causes of foot/knee pain. Report after report said that the slip on shoes that I like can be a cause of improper alignment of the foot, that leads to bad body alignment. They all recommended sandals with sturdy soles and the straps that go across the front of the foot, mid foot and a strap that goes behind the heal. Yesterday I went shoe shopping and today I wore the first pair. Gravity Defyer - Amelia in black. The stiffness has not gone totally away, but I have not had any Tylenol since 4am and I don't think that I needed any until bed time. I have not had any sharp or shooting pain. No muscle cramps in my calf's. So day 1 is a success. I did take one Tylenol right before I was going to sleep an hour ago. Also I would like everyone to know up front that I had never heard of this brand before shopping yesterday. I paid the going rate for the sandals at the time of purchase and was not asked by the company to review these shoes. I am also not giving any professional medical advice. Please go to your personal physician for any medical questions.

On the spinning front I am trying another artsy spin on a drop spindle in shades of purple with diffrent fibers. I will post a picture once it is plied. I also started the second half of a poncho. I am really tired and hope that Eric goes to sleep soon.

Family Time

For a very short time we are all under one roof. John and I will enjoy this time immensely. I am really enjoying the very bright and nice young woman that Teri has turned in to. Eric is really enjoying his Teri time too. When Teri is in the room I am all but invisible, which I don't mind at all, more knitting time for me. Did I get to mention I always love watching them together, I am glad that my children get along so well. John and I are just so lucky to have these two wonderful children.

Prepration

Today was a day full of preparation. We are going to see Teri graduate law school. Eric is staying home with some wonderful care givers. He is not up to the rigors of travel just now. After 3 months of preparation everything is in place. Fingers crossed.

The only glitch of the day seemed to be my camera dying. I think I got it for Teri's elementary or middle school graduation. I was a good little camera while it lasted. I am sure after all these years the tech is better and the new camera will be just a little smaller.

Well it is time to settle Eric in for the night. My next post will be from my pod. so I will have to keep it short.

She Is Home

My dear sweet darling daughter Teri is home for winter break. I plan on relishing every minute of it. The mood is cheery and Eric gave Teri one of those smiles that only he can give. It was nice to have a full kitchen table at dinner. Well it has been a long day. So it is time to say good night.

A Taste of Freedom

Well Eric has been in school 4 whole days this month. Even better 4 days in a row. I did not realize how tired I was until I got Eric to school. To answer a few of the questions you might have.                        
No I did not do much house work.
No I did not do a lot a knitting or spinning. I am still in the process of take some yarn off the wheel. 300 yards and counting. I will have to figure out a better way to take those large skeins off the wheel.
Yes I got things to the Post Office in a timely manner.
Yes I took a lot of naps, at least 2 hours a day but I am no way caught up on sleep.
I meet with friends.
I took myself out to lunch.
I did not hit the malls.
I did make it to the grocery store and Trader Joe's.
I did make one of 2 doctors appointments that I needed to . The other one was out until Monday.
I talked to the roofer.
I am enjoying the Albert Brooks book 2030
But best of all, I got to talk to Teri. 3 finals down 1 to go.
Now it is time to go to sleep.

A Busy Weekend

It has been a very busy weekend around here. On Saturday Eric was under the weather so it was UFO day and I did manage to finish 2, and there are more where they came from. They will have to wait though because I got a repeat order for 3 more knitted caps. The first cap is halfway through and I still have 12 days to get them finished.

Today was laundry and a trip to the hardware store. I decided to put off more deep cleaning until they pick up the recycle bin tomorrow, after all you can only put so much stuff in before they say it is too full and they refuse to take it. We talked to Teri today and she got an award for having the highest grade in one of her classes. I did forget the name of the award but it is really something and I call the bragging rights even though I did none of the work.

It is now very early on Monday morning and I am really hoping that Eric is asleep. His room has been quiet for 20 minutes. He has been very fussy for the last 2 1/2 hours and I was ready to go to sleep hours ago.

Well here is to a few hours of sleep and a very peaceful week. Enjoy your families.

Addemium- I did not get Eric to sleep until 3:30 this morning. Ugh I can't believe that I am awake.

It is Still Tuesday

It is still Tuesday. By only 28 minutes left in the day as I begin to write this. After an hour of hiccups I thought Eric would be tired enough to go to sleep; but I guess not. The hiccups ended over an hour ago, and boy is  still fussy.

I found some time for errands today although they got cut short by a beautiful afternoon rain shower that left over 1/2 in of rain in the rain gauge, had some spectacular lighting strikes and cooled it off out side. I am sure my plants enjoyed it very much. I am not big on watering and tend to leave all my desert plants to fend for themselves as nature intended.

It is getting very quiet so I hope that I can call it a day soon. Have a good what ever time of day it is when you read this and enjoy your families.

Today

I was a long night with Eric last night but I did manage to get all the laundry done last night. Although you have guessed correctly that is is yet to be folded.

After I dropped Eric off at camp I took the advice of a friend and took a nap. Well the morning was then gone. But after a light lunch I managed to get 3 baskets of mics. papers out to the recycling bin for a total of 4 baskets for the day.

On the knitting front I finished one more charity scarf and started another on the same small needles. I started another block on the blanket that never ends, well it will end but I am only approaching the 3 foot mark and have 4 feet left to knit. My one word of advice on this project. Never ever knit a queen sized blanket on size seven needles unless you really, really love the person receiving the blanket very much.

Well I am recharged again and am off to do more chores. Maybe I will even finish folding the laundry. have a great evening and enjoy your families.

Sheri's Chicken Salad

Ok it is time for another recipe this has been a summer time favorite for years. I know it seems like an odd combo of ingredients but please trust me on this one. This is also a good recipe to get the kids in the kitchen with.


Sheri’s Chicken Salad

3 cups of chicken diced.

3 stalks of celery diced

1 large tart apple diced (think granny smith or pippin)

½ cup raw pecans chopped coarsely

½ cup of dried cherries sliced in half

Mayonnaise to just hold salad together or slightly more if you want to make sandwiches

Salt and white pepper to taste

Place first 5 ingredients in a large bowl and toss. Add ¼ cup of mayonnaise and toss, you can always add more mayonnaise if you would like but once it is in the bowl you can’t undo it so add the mayonnaise slowly. When you have the constancy of the salad right it is time to take a taste and see if you need the salt and pepper. I usually start off with the pepper and end up skipping the salt. Remember to use a clean spoon for each taste test.

Cover and place in the fridge to chill well. We like to server this on a bed of romaine hearts for a salad. This is one of those nice hot weather meals that can be made the day before for a party or in the morning so dinner is ready when you come home.

For a faster clean up I use 2 dinner plates to do the chopping. One plate for the meat and one plate for everything else. I also use a separate knife for the meat and non meat items. When done just throw or gently place all the chopping items in the dishwasher.

For a milder flavor I use white pepper and it tastes much better when it is freshly ground.

I have not made this as a vegetarian dish but you may be able to replace the chicken with baked tofu.

Can't get over this Cold.

I have been sick this week. Fighting the cold I pick up last week end. But I thought I would share the view my dad pick out. This was the first time since I had been there since December 2008. I am so glad it was a sunny and warm day.

I have been trying to do some knitting and have finished one sock and cast on the second sock, the socks are for me. I cast on a scarf for a friend and found 39 skeins of yarn to start a queen size blanket for Teri. By the way a queen size blanket is 60 x 80 inches plus the boader. So the 39 skeins will not go far. I guess I will just have to buy a few skeins to finish the project.
Eric is doing ok for it being the middle of Janauary, he only had 3 bad nights this week. So we are doing ok.

Have a wonderful week and enjoy your families.

First Really Bad Day Without Diet Soda

Well we know it had to happen sometime. Eric had a long night and I had no diet soda to keep me awake. Worse yet I did not have my ritual 2 cans after a long night to wake me up. I was tired and sluggish all day. Teri and John did all the driving. Did I mention how nice it is to be chauffeured around everywhere.


Despite my lack of sleep we did manage a full day. We ate Dim Sum for brunch. Brunch was followed by a mass hair cut for the guys and Teri at Supercuts. We then dropped the guys off and went shoe shopping. Teri got new tennis shoes and the nicest boots at Alan’s Shoes. We took a walk around LaEncanata and did the shopping for dinner at AJ’s.

At 4 pm my body said enough and a 3 hour nap followed. At least I had the foresight to get dinner cooking before the nap so we had dinner at a decent hour.

It was difficult but I did make it through the day without diet soda. I am still tired and maybe it’s time to say good night to the Dr. Who special and turn in.

Enjoy your families and have a great year.

Chores

I really think I got it all wrong when I tried to teach Eric about doing chores around the house. Yesterday after school, which was an early release for him. I asked if he wanted to help fold laundry of any of the other chores around the house, he signed no each time I named a chore.

Then I tried a different tactic with him, I asked if he did any chores around the house and he signed yes. So having asked what chores I needed to be done I asked if he thought that making dirty laundry and messes were his chores and he signed a very vigorous yes. I was so glad that we were outside at the time because that would have been a knock my head against the wall moment.

I then tried to explain that making clothes dirty and making messes were not chores and he looked at me like I was crazy, this is what he is good at therefore they must be chores. Such is the humours side of life with Eric.

Have a great day and enjoy your families.

Sick Child Day 7 and Counting

We are at day 7 and counting with Eric home sick with a cold, no it is not H1N1 because you get a fever with that. This is just a runny nose and a cough.

So you might wonder what I do for an entire week at home with a sick child. First and foremost I do an incredible amount of laundry. Last night I was up with Eric most of the night so at midnight I threw in a load of laundry and by 5 am the last load of the night was in the dryer. I am told by the local electric company that this has a positive impact on the environment by doing laundry in off peak hours. I really believe it was a female employee trying to convince her husband that it is really OK to run the washer and dryer in the middle of the night when she was up with sick children. So she started a environmental campaign and probably got a bonus for it too.


There is also taking care of Eric. Which basically means that when ever there is a noise coming from his room day or night I go running. I tend to give him lunch in bed, because I find it to hard to get Eric out of bed and into his wheelchair. I also try to keep him amused with his music, DVDs and TV. I try to change his position every so often because he is in bed for so long.

Yesterday I also re-took all the pictures of the items in my Art Fire Studio and listed a bunch of new items. I will also list more items today.

Then there is the paper work that seems to go by the wayside when I have a chance to get out of the house. I have no idea when I will get to the post office but I will have a bag of mail ready to go. This of course leads to cleaning and a neater house. I try to do odds and ends chores that can be put down at any time to go take care of Eric. There are also regular chores such as running rumba and scooba. And once the counters and tables are cleared I might just try to organize the house a bit. There are dinners to cook although John is absolutely great when it comes to knowing when to bring home take away for dinner. The dishwasher to run and empty.

Some days I get a lot of knitting done, especially when Eric wants me to sit with him for hours at a time. All the knitting leads to a basket full of finishing work that needs to be done. Which will lead to more pictures and listings on Art Fire.

I also sneak away to Twitter and Face book to check to see if the world outside of these 4 walls is really still there. I try to find a few minutes for myself and today I am going to make a pan of brownies, because I really need the chocolate.

I know that I am getting tired of being home because I am planning some retail therapy and a lunch at Sweet Tomatoes. I printed out the lunch coupon and have decided with my new hair style that the first time in years I need a blow dryer for my hair.

So to sum up what it is like to be home with Eric sick for the week it is basically a busy week.

Have a wonderful day and enjoy your families.

Children, The Good Side

I just got a direct message from Teri, it looks as if she has finally found her niche in this great big world. As a mother who promised her for years that she would find where she belongs, this is music to my ears. This seems more like an opus than any old song, but this makes me very happy.

Eric has also found something that makes him happy. He has started a community service project at school. He is collecting pull tops from cans for the Tucson Ronald McDonald House. I know this might sound like an oxy-moron to most people, a sick kid helping other sick kids, but the joy he receives for helping the other sick kids is beyond belief. Last month between his home collection efforts and his rallying people at school he turned in 2 pounds of tabs.

If you would like to be part of Eric making the world a better place for other sick kids by saving tabs please let me know. Lets all help Eric make the world change for the better.

As for me I am still knitting hats to help kids keep warm this winter. I am ripping through yarn at a good rate of speed and should be able to pull a box or 2 of stash yarn from the garage soon. If you need hats or scarfs for kids please let me know, I will try to help. They will be wool or cotton, because I don't do acrylic or polyester.

I hope you are all having a wonderful day. Enjoy your families.

A Wonderful Day After All

After spending half the night trying to get Eric settled down for the night and not wanting to wake up today, it turned out to be a pretty good day.

After a venti soy chai from Starbucks,I started to wake up. The Friday Fun Knitters group at the mall was just what I need today. I was to tired to work on anything that needed counting so it was a black wash cloth today. The hand knit wash cloths seem to bring nostalgia of a better time for most people. I always hear "my grandma used to make these and use these all the time." So I am happy that I can create good memories for a lot of people.

Karen brought us two treats today, she made the best cookies, but alas I stopped at just one, I had to share with everyone else. Then she yarned* us all, we all got to take home new to us yarn to make charity projects with. I can see lots of children's hats in the next week or so.

Nancy brought in a stack of patterns and I found a few helpful ones including one for baby hats.

If you are ever in Tucson on a Friday morning please feel free to stop by with your knitting or crocheting at the Foothills Mall food court from 10 am till noonish. All we ask is that you have fun and enjoy yourself.

After lunch with my husband and a badly need nap it was off to Eric's doctors appointment. I always get a little nervous about having to get Eric weighed. After a complete work out of getting everything off his chair they said he gained almost 11 pounds in 6 months, a big wow!!! I said that the scale had to be off and maybe Eric's will chair modifications earlier in the week were responsible for part of the jump. So Kayla, Eric's Aide manage to get Eric out of his chair and the wheel chair had lost 3/4 of a pound, which meant that Eric really did gain 11 pounds in 6 months. Now this does not even begin to bring Eric up to the 1st percentile for weight but for us it was huge.

So to celebrate we dropped Eric and Kayla off at home and went off to a quite dinner. I threw in a green tea boba for the celebration.

I am just so amazed at the highs and lows one not so little boy can bring into my life in one 24 hour day. What can I say this is life with Eric.

Now I think it is time to do some more knitting and watch a little television.

* Yarned- the act of giving yarn to a fellow fibre artist, that you hope they can do something useful with because you want the yarn out of your house.

Have a wonderful evening and enjoy your families.